Blood Roses
by RodentLordSteve
Summary: Betrayed by one of his best friends, taken away from all he knows, and thrust into a new fight for survival. One person shall plant roses in blood.
1. Blood Soaked Fields

**I do not own Sword Art Online or RWBY. All rights to their respective owners. Now on to some stuff that I feel to be important. I was almost done writing this first chapter when I somehow lost everything I had. So I've had to rewrite EVERYTHING.**

* * *

Some important background info:

I took the time to recatalog all my weapons, items, armor, ect. The main character, Burudaku, will have completed three different self defense courses and two different survival courses. His main style of combat in GGO is On The Fly, allowing to come up with strategies as the situation demands. He has a bounty of 15.5 million credits over his head in game, leading to a lot of firefights with other players. His avatar is tall, lanky, with long dark blue hair that has light blue tips braided all the way down his back, with vivid red cat like eyes. He wears the Chaos Battlesuit, Medic Cap and Round Glasses, all of which are dyed white with light blue secondaries. His guns remain pitch black though.

* * *

(Death Gun Arena)

Itaski and Burudaku stood fifteen feet apart from each other, sidearms aimed in a standoff. Everyone gathered in the arena could only watch as two former friends stared each other down with killing intent. Kirito went to go after Itaski, but Burudaku stops him. "Kirito. Stay back, This is my fight. Alone." Hesitantly, Kirito steps back, unable to help. At some unseen signal, the two men fire their guns. 10mm and .45 collide in the briefest of sparks as the fire fight rages on, neither party able to gain the upper hand over the other. As the surrounding area falls apart, every one except the two dualist are logged out of the game.

"Itaski. Can you answer one question honestly for me?" Burudaku asks, avoiding the incoming gunfire. The only answer he receives is increased Prediction Lines.

Before the last twenty feet of arena disappear, the former friends land fatal shots on each other. "Even in the end, you prevail." Itaski says before they are logged out or killed by the system.

* * *

(Main character PoV)

Opening my eyes, I don't see my room ceiling. Instead I see a snow covered tree canopy above me. Confused, I get up and feel a couple things fall off my head and face. Bending down I see my assault rifle, hat, and glasses from GGO. Putting my hat and glasses on, I then pick up my gun and attach it to its holster points on my chest. Opening the menus, I scroll till I find the map and check my location. "Atlas, Schnee Manor Grounds? Either I'm in a development testing ground or Home is suddenly farther away." I say to myself as I go to check my inventory. Much to my surprise everything is there, alongside all the credits I had earned, curious I check to see if the logout button is there as well.

"Well, it looks like home really is farther away." I think out loud to myself, seeing that there is no logout button. Hearing rapid footsteps in the snow behind me, I turn around just in time to get tackled by someone. Lifting my head up to see who tackled me, a quest pops up in my vision

* * *

**[White Fear, Black Death]**

**Quest Start**

**Objective: Defend the girl from the attacking black monsters. 00/14**

**Completion Rewards: Mythic Weapon**

* * *

Welp time to get to work. Gently pushing the girl of my chest and to the left of me, I get up and scan for these 'black beast' that the quest mentioned. Hearing shuffling sounds from the right, I turn and see a large black lupine like beast with some sort of white mask lumber out from between the trees. "_And just like that, this gets harder_." I think to myself as I fire a burst into its head in a fountain of blood. Three more approach from the front and three from the left and right as well. Sparing a quick glance behind me confirms that there are three behind me as well. "Stay down." I say before, drawing my smg and dual wield the two automatic weapons, firing in a circle around me thanks to the high ammo capacity of the two guns. Scanning the bullet ridden corpses, I confirm my kill count to be a total of thirteen altogether. Holstering my smg, I proceed to reload assault rifle. "You ok?" I ask the girl. She gives me a shocked nod of the head yes. "Do you know where your family is?" this time a nod no.

"Want me to help you find them?", this time she responds properly with, "Yes please Mister.". As we go to set off, a roar has us turning back around to a large black bear thing with the same mask as the wolves. I immediately open up with my assault rifle but the bear seem to shrug off the bullets. "Run and don't look back." I say as the bear charges forward before I can reload. It smacks me into a tree, making me drop my gun and draining my hp bar around five percent. Standing back up, I throw three incendiary knives at the same time before rushing the now burning beast and landing a solid uppercut. It swings wildly at me in its fire induced rage, while I dodge and wait for the right moment to strike.

Seeing the right moment, I tackle the bear and pull a knife from my boot and start stabbing it in the neck repeatedly, coating my self in its blood. As it finally goes limp, I get off the corpse and almost fall over. Glancing at my hp bar, I see why, it's in the red and has the bleeding status active, which is slowly killing me. Opening my menu, I pull out a med kit and start fixing myself up. Finishing up, I can hear two sets of footsteps approaching me from the side. Looking up at the sources, I see that it's the girl and someone armed with a cavalry saber I assume is her mother wearing an expression of disbelief. The quest completion prompt that appears in my vision confirms it. I accept the prompt and the weapon spawns in my hands. Its a shotgun with a sword for a bayonet. Hefting it with my left hand, and open my menus with my right hand and store it for later. Reaching down I pick up my assault rifle and with a wave bye, I set off into the forest. I only get a few steps before I hear, "Stop, where are you going?"

Turning around to look, I see that the saber has been sheathed. "I'm headed for the closest town. After that? Only the winds know." She looks me up and down sternly before saying, "Your leaving with no reward after helping a Schnee?"

"Yep, why? Did I forget something?" I ask curiously. She looked at me exasperated saying, "That Schnees are one of the most powerful families on Remnant." With this new info, I see what she means. Shaking my head, I reply with, "That shotgun I got was reward enough. Now if you will excuse me, I'll be leaving. And don't try to stop me, what message would that leave for the one beside you?" and resume walking away while activating **Meta-optical Camouflage**.

* * *

(Fast Forward Seven Years Later)

The scene that played out before my scope was not one I wished to watched. With a gentle squeeze of the trigger, the AMR Tiamat MK2 lets out a loud bark and the head of the Boarbartusk disappears, coating the back side of the white haired, high heel wearing, .45/rapier user in its black blood. Cycling the bolt, I sight the the next Grimm, a Creep and fire. It vanishes from sight completely while I cycle the bolt once more. Three rounds, two creeps and another Boarbartusk later, the girl is safe from the Grimm and I jump from tree to tree to my next perch. Beacon Initiation day was the best paying day of the year, and the hardest day at the same time. Yeah sure I was the best shot they stumbled across accidently, but even I have limits to how fast I can cycle an anti material rifle bolt. Stopping just shy of the ruin clearing, I crawl farther up the tree and scan the skies for any unwanted guests that could show up. A gryffin rises from the forest a few miles from my perch, only to fall back into the forest missing part of its skull do to a well placed AP anti material round. After about fifteen minutes, of no activity, a black and yellow pair passes under my spot.

I watch them approach the ruins and select their relic. They miss the caw of a Nevermore, but I don't, shifting my rifle in the direction of the sound, I spot the thing. Sighting in its head, I see an extra patch of red on its back right next to a white spot. Zooming in, I realize that some how TWO of the initiatives managed to hitch a ride on its back by holding on for dear life. I have to time this just right otherwise I risk hitting them. Or I can face the racket going onto my left and find someone getting flung into a tree close to mine. Turning back to the Nevermore, I lead it by one-eighth of an inch and fire three times, punching through its thick bone mask. The two people on top of its corpse coast on its remaining momentum for half a mile before jumping off it as it goes over the clearing. The eight people in one spot, perfect. Now if they just stick together, this will go so much faster. Or a Death Stalker that sounds pissed can arrive, and I don't think they have heavy combat gear to kill it. With no other choice, I leap from my tree and hit the ground rolling, and break into a sprint while I change the rifle for the Meteor Fall rpg through the menus. Breaking into the clearing beside the initiates, I sight the thing and fire, yelling, "Get To The Cliff! Now"

Reloading, I charge the Grimm and fire again, its shell cracking from the two high yield missiles. Throwing the missile launcher away cause I don't have time to reload, I dive between the Death Stalker's claws, jump onto its back, and grab a hold of its tail so I don't get flung off. Slinging my Strum KZ4 forward, I shoot the base of the stinger until it falls off. The poison part removed, I focus my gun on the cracks in the exoskeleton. The 9mm AP rounds simply fail to penetrate the cracked shell. Time for the little guys, pulling two plasma grenades from my belt, I prime one and throw it at the weakened armor quickly followed by the other one, before I jump off the Grimm and try to get far away as possible. I only get a few feet before the grenades go off in a large ball of superheated Grimm, fire, green light, and a shockwave. Getting thrown by the explosion, I land painfully on the ground and let out a gasp of pain as my hp bar dips down into the yellow.

Rolling onto my back, I end up looking into two pools of silver, full of concern. After a second I realize that it's one of the initiates. Getting off the ground I put on my angry face, "I'm going to ask once. Why didn't you guys run?" The only one to speak up was silver eyes, "What if you needed help?" That was the most innocent answer I've heard in the three years I've been working for Beacon. I drop the angry face and chuckle, before checking the mini map on my hud. "Do any of you carry heavy weapons?" I ask as I change weapons for the HMG Bravefire 2 and a Valkyrie MK 3. A collection of nopes and one yes is my answer, I just give a heavy sigh before pulling out a scroll and punching in the number. "Hey, I got the remaining eight with me."

"Are any of them hurt?" the voice on the other end asks me.

"No. No one's hurt, but I do have a problem." I respond.

"A problem?" they question.

"There's a lot of Grimm in bound and only one of them has heavy firepower." I say, casting a quick glance to my minimap to see how long we had till the grimm arrived.

"I'll send a bull head immediately." they say, more than likely getting the bullhead moving.

"One last thing, they all did good." I say before the line clicks, indicating that the call was over. Turning back to my charges, "As you just heard, a lot of grimm in bound to our location. Beacon is sending a bullhead to extract us, but they won't get here before the grimm. So, what we have the great pleasure of doing is fighting for our lives until Evac arrives. Any questions?" The initiate in white is the only one that speaks up, "And I suppose that you have a plan to fight them?" she asks with some snark. I grin and pull out the HMG Bravefire and say, "Why I'm glad you asked cupcake. The nasty black beast get here in five minutes. And when they do." I pull a frag from my belt, "Kaboom. Anything that survives." I then gesture with my heavy machine gun. "Now group up in the center of the ruins and form a circle of guns while I lay down some 'presents' for our new friends." Everyone of them except the scraggly blond guy who asks, "Ummm...what if we don't have a gun?"

With a sigh, I put my grenade away, open my menu, and pull out one of my four Draque L Harmattans and hand it to him along with ten spare mags. "That gun is simple to use. Hold with both hands, stock to shoulder, point at grimm, pull trigger till empty, then reload and repeat." I quickly show him how to reload then hurry to the forest edge and start laying all sorts of landmines and grenade traps. Hearing the first explosion and the following howls of pain, I plant the last mine and rush to the ruins where the initiates are. Getting there, I order, "If your a marksman fire at will, the rest of you, wait till you see their eyes then open fire. You, ginger with the grenade launcher. When the grimm are half way here, start shooting and thin their numbers further." I barely finish before the sound of a .50 cal rifle and a .308 reach my ears. Crimson and red are my marksmen then, that means everyone else is geared for close range. Except the blonde with the gauntlets. "Hey, what shotgun gauge do you use?" I ask her.

It takes her a second to realize what I asked but she then says, "Oh I use 20 gauge. Why?" I don't answer, instead opening my menu again and pulling out a spare Valkyrie MK 3 and toss it to her. "Use that, it has better range and is 20 gauge. I want it back after this is all over."

* * *

**Author's Note**

**First: I know that there is a large time skip already in this first chapter, and I hopefully made it a reasonable size.  
****Second: Burudaku WORKS for Ozpin, he's not a student. he and Ozpin have a mutual understanding of scratch my back, I scratch yours.  
****Third: Yes, I ended the chapter before a very large fight. That fight is going to kick off the second chapter of the story.**


	2. Slayer Traveler Friend?

**And we are back with chapter two of Blood Roses. When we ended back in the first chapter, Burudaku and eight Beacon initiates were starting to fight for their lives against a large horde of grimm. Time for the blood bath.**

* * *

The sounds of gunfire, explosions, and grimm screams of pain and rage fill the air as the nine of us fight off the ever closing tide of darkness. Three loud caws draw my eyes to the sky. Ancient class nevermores. Of course this had to get harder. "Marksmen. Eyes in the sky, Ancient Nevermores in bound. Shoot them down, or if your feeling gutsy, cut them to ribbons." I call out focusing my attention back to the veritable tide in front of us. My gun overheats, forcing me to ditch it and switch to the shotgun. I see one of the Nevermores fall from the sky, bearing multiple cuts and bullet holes, crush a decent number of grimm under it.

Any ursa, beowulf, creep or tarantula that got to close was meet with 32 gauge to the face, coating myself in the erupting blood mist created. I hear the bull head drawing close as the second Nevermore falls to the ground dead. Backflip kicking the ursa in front of me away, I reload my gun and put a shell into the bear grimm. More explosions rock the ground as the bullhead fires its few missiles into the horde of grimm, followed by the dull roar of its twin mounted chain guns, punching inch wide holes into the last nevermore killing it as well.

The bullhead stops above us and opens the back hatch, deploying ropes for us to grab onto. "All Of You Get On That Bullhead Now!" I order, duplicating my shotgun and blowing away the head of two beowulfs at once. "What about you?!" the red cloak wearing initiates ask worriedly, as she puts a hole right between the eyes of an ursa. "I'll be fine. I'm rated as a grade five hunter, NOW MOVE!" I call/yell braining two creeps at once before dodging a pair of tarantulas that attacked from the side. I see her cast one last glance at me before scaling the rope to safety of the bullhead. As soon as the red headed spear fighter grabs ahold of the rope, my earpiece buzzes before a familiar voice comes through, "I'm removing that restriction. End them all." Emptying the remaining four shells in both shotguns, I toss them aside and pull two metal cylinders from my waist and ignite them. A blade of deep purple light erupts from the left, and from the right one a blade of vibrant crimson. Their low hum fills the air as they await their fill of death.

* * *

(Third person PoV, Bullhead)

The eight initiates watched as what they could only describe as a storm of purple, red and white over took the grimm that had threatened to over welm them only moments ago. Howls of pain and hatred filled the air as the grimm died in droves. A static fills the bay before the stranger's voice fhits their ears. "Sky Dragon, this is White Night, requesting That Thing. Over?"

"This is Sky Dragon, I read you loud and clear White Night. Deploying Project Midnight now. Give them Hell, Over." the pilot of the bullhead replies as a dull thum is heard from the outside of the bullhead. An long object falls to the ground and lands straight up, before discarding its upper half to reveal a four inch thick, eight foot long metal pole. The stranger dodges the grimm as he closes in on the pole, before grabbing it one handed. It springs to life as he flips away from the drop point, turning from a staff into a dual sided scythe that is black as night. From their spot above, they hear him yell, "COME AT ME YOU KRAUT BASTERDS!"

Then the carnage resumes and grimm limbs, blood, and bodies start flying through the air. In fifthteen minutes, the remaining grimm are fading from existence as their mutilated corpses evaporate, leaving the stranger alone amidst the field of blood and carnage. As the bullhead lands, the stranger slowly limps his way over, using the dual bladed scythe as a crutch. As Ruby gets ready to asks him questions, He stops her and says, "Questions later. I'm going to sleep."

* * *

(Back to Burudaku's PoV)

The Bullhead ride back to Beacon was uneventful and provided me a chance to take a much needed nap. The gentle jolt of the bullhead landing is what gets me moving around from my nap. Taking a quick glance at my hp bar shows that i'm at half health after my nap. It's better than being at mere hit points away from dying. Stepping out, me and the initiates are greeted by Ozpin and Glynda waiting for us. "Good work Mr. Daku. You have the rest of the day off." the headmaster says before dismissing me and talking to the initiates as I walk away.

I take my time crossing the quarter mile to the garage that Beacon had for students and staff. Since I'm technically staff, I'm allowed to keep my rig there. Pulling the keys from a secure pocket inside my coat, I climb into the driver seat and crank the ignition, causing the 'Warthog' as everyone seems to call it, to roar to life. Easing out of the garage, I'm stopped by Glynda, "Daku, your leaving already?" she asks. I nod my head and say, "Yep, can't do laundry or dishes if I stay around here. I also have another engagement to attend to over in Vauco." Glynda looks like she is thinking it over before coming to a decision. "Do you have room for one more?" she asks. "Yep, fair warning its a month and a half long trip." I reply already doing the mental calculations to figure out supplies needed. I gesture for her to climb, and she does so.

Finishing easing out of the parking lot, I pull up Ozpin's number and patch him into my ear piece. Going twenty five down the seven mile long road to Vale, Ozpin picks up, "Mr. Daku this is unexpected."

""I know, but I figured I better call you before I become unavailable for awhile. I'm headed down to Vauco and Glynda coming with me." I reply casting a quick glance at my passenger.

"I see. Any reason why she decided to come along?" he asks, curiosity slipping into his voice.

I let out a short laugh before replying, "Ozpin, we both know I can't answer that one without getting thrown from my own car."

He sighs over the call before saying, "Very well, anything else I can do for you?"

"Yeah, send me the entirety of Ruby Rose's file. There's something I want to check."  
I can hear the suspicion in his voice as he says, "Of course Mr. Daku. I hope you and Glynda have a good trip." The line then goes dead as Ozpin hangs up. Slowing down, I open the center console and pull out a book of tapes and hand it to Glynda, saying, "Here, feel free to put whatever in." As she accepts it, I speed back up to thirty five this time. After a few minutes of silence I hear her put one of the tapes in followed by 'Take Me Home Country Roads' by John Denver come on. As the first few bars of the song play,I start to sing along to the song.

* * *

"Almost Heaven, West Virginia,"

"Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River,"

"Life is old there, older than the trees" as I finish the third line, I notice Glynda looking at me sideways, but pay it no mind.

"Younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze"

"Country roads, take me home"

"To the place I belong"

"West Virginia, mountain mama"

"Take me home, country roads"

"All my memories gather round her"

"Miner's lady, stranger to blue water"

"Dark and dusty, painted on the sky"

"Misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye"

"Country roads, take me home"

"To the place I belong"

"West Virginia, mountain mama"

"Take me home, country roads", finishing the line, I notice that Glynda is still looking at me in disbelief. I file it away to ask her when the song is over.

"I hear her voice, in the morning hour she calls me"

"The radio reminds me of my home far away"

"And driving down the road I get a feeling"

"That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday"

"Country roads, take me home"

"To the place I belong"

"West Virginia, mountain mama"

"Take me home, country roads"

"Country roads, take me home"

"To the place I belong"

"West Virginia, mountain mama"

"Take me home, country roads"

"Take me home, down country roads

"Take me home, down country roads" As the song ends, I ask Glynda, "What? First time hearing me sing along to a song?" She shakes her head and says, "First time I've heard you sing since you started doing work around Beacon. And I thought Peter was playing you up when he said you could sing." I laugh heartily at that, before saying, "If you think that was good, put in the one labeled 'Bohemian Rhapsody.' Now there's one I can do better." She smiles saying, "Oh I'll be the judge of that." The tape is ejected and in goes Bohemian Rhapsody. The moment Freddie Mercury starts to sing, I'm right there with him for every note and line. As the song ends, we roll into Vale and Glynda is staring in disbelief at the amazing performance I put on. I give her a shit eating grin as we pull into the apartment complex parking lot.

* * *

""Welcome to where I've been staying for the past few years," I say leading Glynda to my apartment. Opening the door reveals everything just as I left it. Books and papers covering three different tables all on history, myths, and things of such nature. The papers are things from earth concerning a multitude of government level leaked science secrets and conspiracy theories. I gather those up in to a bundle and stash it in my inventory as Glynda looks around the place. Leaving her to look about, I head into the kitchen and get any dishes in the sink into the washer and start it. Moving into the bedroom to get some stuff, I open my menu, pull half a million lien from storage, and toss it onto the bed before opening the closet. From the closet I pull out a large olive green steamer trunk and drag it into the main room, before going and grabbing the stack of lien of the bed where I tossed it.

Glynda cocks her head at the trunk as I walk back into the room. "If there's one thing I've learned traveling, its bring the green trunk. Now there's one thing left to do before we go stop by your place so you can grab essentials. Pay some bills." I say picking the trunk up and heading out the door to put the trunk in back of the rig. Trunk loaded, I head into the main office as Glynda leaves my apartment. Within forty five minutes of leaving the apartment complex where I live, me and Glynda are finally leaving Vale and out into the wilds, on our way to Vauco. Instead of her usual dress cape thing, whatever its called, glynda is wearing a pair of gray jeans, brown boots, and a purple t-shirt with a darkish white half sleeve jacket with her hair done in a braid similar to what I do. "Hey Glynda, can you take the wheel for a bit? I got to do something in back." I ask.

"It would be rude of me not to take the wheel after joining you." Glynda replies as I pull to the side of the dirt road and climb in to the back of the rig while Glynda takes the driver seat. The gentle acceleration up to around forty five is all I need to get started. Opening the trunk, I pull the parts of a massive rifle from their layered foam slots and begin assembling the one hundred twenty pound gun, starting with its vehicle mount parts. The sound of weapons parts sliding together and being bolted down draws Glynda's gaze to the rear view mirror to see what I'm doing. She focuses back on the road as I remove the muzzle brake from the trunk and attach it to the barrel. One last thing is needed to finish putting the .950 JDJ together, a box of ammo. Closing the trunk and securing it once more, I turn around and open a container with ten 36 round drum mags of HE rounds for it, alongside a ten round mag of standard lead.. Sliding the ten round mag home, I pull back the charging lever with a satisfying. Sla-chak. "Ahhhh, nothing gives satisfaction quite like that sound." I say out loud, handing a pair of earmuffs to Glynda, and wait for her to slip them on before I sight in a nevermore just a few miles out and gently squeeze the trigger.

With a mighty thump and a sla-chak, the nevermore fall from the sky and into the forest, no longer with head or most of its neck. Removing the mag, I tap Glynda's shoulder indicating she can remove the earmuffs. The first thing she says as the earmuffs fall around her neck is, "What in the Brother's name is that?" Storing the partly used mag away, locking down the gun, and climbing into the passenger seat I reply, "It's a .950 caliber semi automatic sniper rifle with a confirmed accuracy range of four miles and a hitting distance of five. The one I use is optimized for a max of four miles altogether. Guaranteed to rip through monsterius class Grimm armor in five rounds. The shells I use do it in two." she doesn't respond to that and instead focuses on navigating the dirt road as it starts to turn bumpy.

* * *

During the first two weeks of travel through the forest, me and Glynda make small talk and exchange a few jokes, fending of the occasional grimm attack. As we pull into a small town on the outskirts of the mountain border between Vale and Vauco, I pull a lightweight durable tan duster from behind my seat and hand it to Glynda saying, "The folks around here are a bit strange and dislike huntsmen. Put this on and don't say that your a huntress or use you semblance. There's a wide brimmed cowboy hat in the back, put it on as well and load the rifle. Stay alert." Pulling up to a fuel station, I turn off the car and hope out, donning my own tan duster. Glynda climbs into the back and does as I said to, putting on the hat and loading the rifle.

I signal for her to stay with the Rig while I head inside. "Blue! My good man! How you been?" the large boisterous, tanned, well built man named Dave asks, as I step inside. I give him a shrug and smile, saying, "I'm doing good. Hit a big score few weeks back and now I'm doing my yearly Vauco run. How are the Howlers this time around?" Dave just scowls and says, "Damned grimm are more active than ever. Bagged a big one just last night as it tried to get Mary." A look of surprise crosses my face before I say, "Damn Really? Their getting ballsy now days then cause me and my partner killed a pack of five, two days ago back in the forest." His eyes go wide before he composes himself, "I take it your here for the usual then?" I nod my head and say, "Yep. Fire and lighting dust, and some extra water before we cross the desert."

He claps a hand on my shoulder saying, "Gotcha, and take care of your partner out there. She's quite the looker if I do say so." We both give a hearty laugh and settle down before I pull out a thousand lien and hand it over. He reaches behind the counter and sets a 3 by 3 by 3 crate of fire and lightning dust on the counter alongside two cases of water bottles. I put the water bottles on top of the dust and say, "Take care Dave, and tell the rest of the folks to take care." As I leave the station interior. Setting the Dust into the back of my rig, I notice Glynda seems less than happy. Moving the water off to the side I grab four vials each of both dust types as well as two vials of Ice dust I keep in the back. Popping open the hood of our ride, I remove the old almost fully spent fire and lightning dust vials and pop the new ones in. I then open the cap to the Ice dust chamber and carefully pour it in so that I don't overfill the specialized tank. Closing the hood, I hope into the driver seat, start the engine and drive out of town.

About a quarter of a mile after leaving town, I ask Glynda, "Hey, grumpy pants. What's wrong?" I can hear her sigh dejectedly before answering, "I'm wondering why I chose to join you on this trip. All the other teachers said that when ever you went somewhere with them, it was like reliving their younger days as hunters in training. Yet I've barely felt that spark."

"Glynda, let me tell you something. I've been here for seven years. Seven long years of searching. In that time I've meet a lot of people, and I've never seen someone dedicated to their job as you are. The fact is, you've grown so dedicated to your job that you've forgotten how to slow down and enjoy the ride. You get what I'm saying?" I say, hitting a series of turns and a jump, that elicits a squeal from Glynda as we fly through the air and crush a howler as we land and speed off. She doesn't respond for a while, thinking on what I've just told her. Only when we camp for the first night in the desert, does she finally answer. "I have come to terms with what you said and realize. Your right. It's just…...Sigh...I can't talk about it."

I let out a chuckle saying, "Get some rest, I'll take the first watch."

As Glynda Lays down in front of our modest little campfire, I wait till she's asleep then pull out a photo from seven years ago. It shows a wide open plain with a ruined city in the distance. In the center is a massive dead mutated wasp with me on its head and Kuriha, Afra-sys, and Yukki off on either side of its head. Letting out a small quiet sigh, I put the picture back where I pulled it from and whisper to myself, "One day guys, I'll be back."

* * *

**And there you have it guys, chapter two. Yes I used 'Country Roads' because I thought it fit the drive down to Vale. No, I don't own the song of course. I know that Burudaku and Glynda's relationship is really weird, and I will be expanding on it in later chapters so bear with me on it for now. And when we come back, expect a mad race to Vauco.**


	3. Killer, Stranger, Protecter

**Hello there my dear readers, I'm back with chapter three of Blood Roses and I've promised a mad race to Vauco. And I shall deliver, I present to you Blood Roses: Mad Max edition.**

* * *

As we drive past a small oasis, a shifting black patch catches my eye. Its not shifting like heat wave, it's more like….. As realization dawns on me, I ask Glynda, "How well do you take bugs?" I can hear her do some shifting around in the back from her spot on the rifle before she answers, "I can handle most bugs. Why?"

"Cause we got Vauco dune shifters, on our front left." I reply as they start drawing closer, breaching the sand fully, revealing their armored skulls capable of breaking Atlesian grade steel with no problem before diving back under. "And they have spotted us. Hold on tight, I'm gonna try to outrun them." I call back before putting the pedal to the metal, the rig accelerating from forty five mph to almost one hundred in a matter of seconds. Cresting a small dune, we soar through the air for a few fleeting moments before landing hard and shaking us around as we speed away. The sounds of the violently churning sand lets me know that the Dune Shifters are still after us. Glancing in the rearview mirror shows that Glynda is holding on with a white knuckled death grip and the grimm are closing fast. "GLYNDA TURN AROUND AND SHOOT THE DAMN THINGS!" I yell over the roar of the high speed wind. She doesn't even flinch, and her expression is of pure fear. "_Shit. She is terrified of dune shifters. Time for plan B." _I think to myself as I swerve to avoid getting latched on to. Straightening out, I shift straight into seventh gear and hit the NOS.

The speedometer jumps from fifty mph to one twenty five mph in seconds as we pull ahead of the grimm and start leaving them behind. After thirty miles, I slow down, the NOS having ran out some miles ago. "Glynda, are you ok" I ask as it starts to turn to dusk. She doesn't respond. Bringing us to a stop and pulling the E-brake, I turn around and ask again, "Glynda, are you ok?" She doesn't say anything again, but I can see her shuddering ever so slightly. "Glynda, go ahead and climb into the passenger seat. I'm gonna refill the Dust for the engine." I say hopping out and grabbing the Dust. Popping the hood and starting with the ice dust, I can see the vehicle move just a bit, twice, indicating that she had gotten into the passenger seat. Replacing the now nearly spent Fire and lightning dust canisters, I close the hood, discard the spent casings, climb back into the driver side, and start driving. As dusk turns to a dark twilight, I turn on the lights and keep going. As we go, I glance over at Glynda, noting that she fell asleep. "_I don't blame you for falling asleep. From the look of it, you relieved something traumatic." _I think to myself as I eaze us over another dune. As the dark twilight turns to full night, with only the shattered moon and stars to guide us, I pop in a tape. Daniel Castro - I'll Play The Blues For You, comes on, and is followed by many other Blues genre music as I drive through the night, never stopping.

As the night turns to early dawn, the sky takes on a light orange and purple hue as the sun rises slowly over the horizon. Fittingly enough '_Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- OST Coming Home'_ comes on as the dawn's early rays shine on us. As the opening chords play, I hear Glynda start to stir from dream land. "Morning Glynda, sleep well?" I ask, glancing over to see her stretching out. She gives a yawn saying, "Decently enough." After a few moments she asks, "Did you drive all night?"

"Yep, and we're close to the next town before we get to the capital." I reply as the outline of a town starts to take shape on the horizon. We arrive around nine, and I take us to a diner I know called 'The Sandy Crevasse'. Parking the car, we hop out an I lead us inside. I barely get a few steps inside before catching a throwing knife a few inches from my face. With a sigh, I say, "Gary, by all that is holy, it's too early for this." before throwing the knife back to a man in the far corner of the diner. Continuing in, we get seats at the counter and the owner, a well endowed, tanned, goat faunus with enough leg strength to break a person's spine. "Well, Well, if it isn't my favorite wander. Where you been Blue?" she asks, eyeing Glynda before nodding her head slightly. "Oh you know, here and there, and around." I reply nonchalauntly, rubbing my tired eyes with one hand. She looks me up and down before saying, "What happened to you? To many rounds last night?" I chuckle at what she was implying before saying, "Only if Mist. Only if. Last night was filled with driving like a bat out of Hell thanks to the grimm."

* * *

"This round's' on the house Blue, and the back is open if you ever need it." Mist says handing us the menus. "Thanks Mist." I reply.

(Ten minutes later)

"Get Fucked Asshole." I yell cresting a dune and landing on top of someone on a dirtbike. Their allies fire at us from large heavily armored war trucks covered in spikes and dried blood. I can hear the loud report of the .950 JDJ as Glynda fires at the raiders. One of their drivers feels ballsy and tries to ram us, but I swerve and avoid his attempts. "Come On Pretty Boy! Give Us Your Stuff And The Girl And We'll Let You Live!" one of them calls out with a megaphone. "Glynda, lock down the gun and take the wheel." I call over the roar of the collection of war rigs. I can feel Glynda look at me like I'm crazy as she locks down the gun and slips into the driver seat while I climb onto the hood. (Start playing, Metallica - For Whom The Bell Tolls) "Now get me close." I order, pulling my knife from my boot, jumping to the now close enemy vehicle, sinking my knife in to its metal flesh to keep from falling off.

(Glynda's PoV)

I could only cast a small glance at Daku, when he landed on the enemies vehicle, but I would never forget the look in his eyes. They were the eyes of someone willing to do terrible things. The sounds of screaming and unintelligible yelling begged for my attention, but I kept my eyes forward. The screams fall silent and the war vehicle slows down and stops, but Daku isn't on it. He's on a different one, covered in blood, repeating what he did the first time. I can hear the gunshots, but don't stop driving. Then the screaming starts again, and is silenced quickly by a single gunshot. Thats two down and one to go. I don't bother looking back, knowing that he was already on the final vehicle. The second round of gunshots confirm it and are cut off and followed by screams of pain that are cut short as well. I can hear the vehicle speed up and pull beside Daku's. Looking over reveals Daku in the driver seat motioning to stop. Bringing the car to a gentle stop, we both get out, and I immediately head to Daku. His crimson eyes lack their usual spark and he's coated in blood and bullet holes.

(Burudaku's PoV)

Glynda looked terrified as we came face to face. Can't imagine why, I only just brutally killed three people, covered in blood and bullet holes. I feel empty inside.

"In the back of this war rig is a lot of stuff that we're taking with us." I say trudging to the rear of the former bandit leader's rig, my tone leaving no room for argument. Opening the back reveals four medium sized crates of various supplies and two girls that are badly beaten and injured. I can hear Glynda gasp and one of the girls does her best to shy away. The other one acts defiant against her restraints. "Glynda, help them while I get these loaded." I say, picking up the first crate and jumping out. It was a bad idea, because soon as I hit the ground, I collapse and cry out in pain. Turns out that suffering multiple gunshot wounds isn't a very good plan. Pulling myself up and leaning against the crate, I see Glynda jump out after me while I sluggishly open my menu and pull out first aid supplies. She rushes over but I wave her off saying, "Go take care of those girls. I'll be fine, worse has happened to me." As she reluctantly leaves my side she says, "You better not die Daku." Noting what she said, I get to work fixing myself up, starting by removing my jacket, shirt and gloves. Next I take tweezers and start pulling out bullets. It takes about five minutes cause there's so many, but I get them all, then apply a med gel over the holes and wrap them in gauze

* * *

Getting up I check on Glynda and the two girls. "Hey, how are they doing?" I ask, climbing back into the war rig. They act the same way as before and Glynda shoots me a look. I take the hint and grab another crate before exiting and taking the crates to the back of our rig and secure them. I wait for Glynda to give me the all clear to fetch the other two crates so we can continue to Vauco. Popping the hood, I top off all the Dust for the engine and close the hood. I pull out my scroll and give my contact a call, "Hey it's Blue. I'm likely gonna be late for the meeting."

The female voice over the scroll sighs saying, "What could pose a problem for you to be late?"

"I got attacked by bandits in war rigs." I answer with a frown.

"Very well then, whenever you get here is fine." the voices says before the line clicks. I put my scroll back into its pocket and continue waiting for Glynda to call for me.

Walking over to where I left my bloody, bullet ridden coat and shirt, along with my gloves. I pick them up dust them off and put the shirt and gloves on while throwing the coat behind the driver seat. I hear Glynda call for me. Heading over, I climb back up into the war rig to see what she needed. The one girl hides away behind Glynda while the other stares me down and I notice that they seem in slightly better shape. She whispers something to the one behind her and she slowly moves from behind Glynda. "How are they?" I ask, sitting on one of the crates. "Traumatized to some extent, slightly under fed, and wearing rags are the top of the list." Glynda replies wrapping her coat around them. Realization dawns on me and I turn away opening my menu. Within seconds my arms are holding a pile of fresh clothing that I put on the crate before bailing out the open back. Even though I work as a mercenary, I still have a Code of Ethics.

It's another fifteen minutes of being under the sun before Glynda calls me back into the war rig once more. Climbing back up, I'm meet with one hell of a transformation. Despite the fact that it was only mid tier light 'body armor', the two women, (I couldn't call them girls anymore now that they looked like adults) looked almost like they were never held against their will. The one with dirty purple hair had decided on a tan coat that had white markings with a matching shirt with jeans and gray boots. Her violet eyes seemed to be brighter than before, and the small movements from under the coat combined with the cat ears tell me she's a faunus. Her companion had chosen the light blue coat with black markings similar to the tan coat, with a grey shirt, blue jeans and tan boots. She still seemed really skittish, with her inability to stay still and light gray eyes watching my every move.

The look in Glynda's eyes said it all. They were coming with us to Vauco. "Glynda, I already know what your gonna say." I say, picking up a crate, "I never planned to leave them. Just because I'm a mercenary, doesn't mean I dont have morals." I then exit the rig with the crate. I hear Glynda help the other two out of the truck as I walk over to our ride. Puting the crate in back, I realize that with the fourth one as well, there won't be enough room for all four of us. Doesn't mean I won't loot it though. Latching down the three crates I do have, I then head back and past the girls to see what's in the left behind crate. This one is locked, and with no key I see one solution. Pulling my side arm, I shoot the lock off and open the crate to reveal a collection of mecha-shift weapons. A few stand out, but the block of white on the bottom catches my eye the most. I pull it out and search for the transformation button. Finding it, I push it and the block turns into a sword. Inspection reveals that there is a revolver system inside with the trigger at the base of the cross guard. "Huh….Final Fantasy strikes again." I think out loud as I turn the sword back into its block state and tuck it on to my back, continuing to look through the crate.

As I look through the crate, it hits me. These guys killed Huntsmen. If there's one thing I've learned about Huntsmen its that they engrave their name into their weapon some where. Kinda like a dog tag of sorts, in case they don't return from a mission. I change my mind, this crate is coming with us, they deserve some sort of proper burial. Hefting the crate, I jump out and bring it over to our ride and remove one of the other crates and put this one in its place. The girls look at me like I'm crazy. I pull the mechashift sword block from my back saying, "These guys killed Huntsmen. They deserve some sort of proper burial." The woman with the light gray eyes gets excited at the sight of the weapon and tries to say something, but it comes out as a whisper. I can take the hint and had her the weapon, which she proceeds to hold close. I climb back into the rig and start driving towards Vauco once more. The few hour drive seems to last longer, but we finally arrive at the city.

* * *

**And there you guys go, just as I promised, A mad dash for Vauco. And just who did our Merc save from those raiders? What's happening at Beacon without Glynda there? We'll find out somewhere further up the road. **


	4. Vauco, Usual Buisness

**So this is a question for my most faithful readers. Should I keep this story around? I'm asking because I don't have anything solid for Chapter Five, and Four is a rush job to say the least. So the quality of it isn't up to my level of snuff that I would like. Leave a comment below and I'll read them. Now back to the story.**

* * *

"Hey Glynda?" I asked getting her attention,m as we pull up outside the local Huntsman Guild. She looks to me, "Yes?",

"Can you find us a place to spend the night, while I take care of some stuff?"

If I didn't know better, I would say she looked at me sideways, as I hopped out and collected the box of Huntsman weapons. "Of course." she replies."

"Thanks, I'll try to be back by nightfall." I say, before entering the building.

The inside is nothing overly special, It has a reception desk, some chairs for people when it gets busy, and a few paintings. Putting the crate of weapons on the ground beside me, the receptionist looks worried. "Bandits attacked while I was on the road. They had weapons of fallen Huntsmen as trophies. Their families deserve to know." I say, solemnly. The poor girl looks disheartened by the news. "Very well. Is there a name to tell the families?" she asks. "Most people call me Blue." I reply. She notes that down, and tries to offer me the usual reward for returning weapons. I decline, saying, "Split it among the families. They need it more than me." With that, I take my leave, and head off to the next thing on my list.

* * *

The streets of Vauco aren't kind to strangers unless they prove themselves. Something I had done. Anyone that arrives with me, is considered off limits. So I wasn't worried about the girls, or people trying to mug me as I worked my way through the back streets and allies. Finding myself outside a nameless bar, I enter. Taking a seat, I 'order' a fiery double shot. The password that my potential employer said to use. He nods, and points to the end of the bar. I slip him some lein for his troubles, and wink. He nods in understanding and shoos everyone out, except me and my contact. "So your the person looking to hire me." I say, turning in my seat to face her. She has long black hair, amber eyes, paleish skin, and is wearing something fitting of Vauco. She smirks, saying, "And your the most famous mercenary in the underground. I must say, I was expecting someone, more intimidating." So that's her game? Try to make me fall under her control via manipulation. Not happening. "I was expecting someone prettier. Like your friend in the corner." I say,pointing to the dark skinned, red eyed, green haired girl in the corner. "So you saw her? I'm impressed." the woman says.

"Yeah, not a very good illusionist. Me on the other hand?" I reply, using Meta-Optical, and vanishing from sight. The duo look around trying to spot me, with no luck. A third person enters, he has greyish-silver hair. Grabbing the Dark haired woman from behind, I pull out a side arm and place it to her temple, at this range, Aura won't stop the bullet. "You didn't play by the agreed rules." I say as the camouflage ends. "Have your friends leave. Or I can kill all of you."

She sighs before saying, "Emerald, Mercury, leave. Now." The duo listens and leaves the bar. I release the woman and holster the gun. "Now, let's do this correctly." I gesture to a table, and we take a seat. "I'm Blue, a mercenary of skill. Currently unhired." I start. "Cinder. Pyromancer thats looking to hire some help." She replies. I nodded in understanding. "Now why would a pyromancer need a mercenary of my caliber?" I ask, going with my standard routine of operation.

"Because I'm running a large operation and someone is trying to destroy it." she answers.

I note that down, before asking, "What type of operation do you run?"

"Dust and weapons." is her reply. Its short. Too short.

I raise an eyebrow, "Who is your supplier and who is the buyer?"

"Anyone looking to buy a weapon or Dust." again the answer is short.

I note that down as well. "This is being said now. I operate under a code of ethics. Should you try to make me violate that code. Our deal will be forfeited and I'm selling you out to the authorities. Clear?"

"Crystal clear."

"Good. last question. Do you work for anyone else?" this one throws her off. "I'll take that as a yes. That means I'm not gonna work for you." with that, I get up and go to leave. The girl has the look of pure rage, as I get up. I see the fireball forming in her hand, and I respond accordingly. With a gunshot. "Ah ah ah. Not so fast." I say, as she holds her hand. She looks murderous. "Next time. I'll use something much worse." with that, I leave. There's one more stop before I return to the girls.

* * *

(? PoV)

A faint beeping is the first thing I notice, next its that I'm in a soft bed. Opening my eyes, I close them immediately afterwards, due to the brightness of the lights. I open them much slower this time. "Where?" I manage to get out, weakly. "Easy there, you've been out for a very long time, Summer." an unfamiliar voice says.

* * *

**I know, I'm cruel leaving this on a major cliffhanger, but like I said earlier, Its been a while, and this chapter isn't my usual snuff. Those of you who are familiar with my work, let me know if I should keep this alive, or not.**


	5. End of the line

**two years huh? been some time since I put any work out on this...*Looks around* everything seems to have stalled since I was here last. Wont lie or beat around the bush my readers, this story is dead. If you want to resurrect it, or take it over, just give me a pm. I check my mail box every day. I do have some good news though, kinda. I will be continuing my work on Undine of The IceBorne, and maybe a new story, cause there is a bunny or two running around my head currently/**

**Rodent Lord Steve, signing off.**


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